Middlefocus

Are the meetings that you attend fully focussed on achieving their intended outcomes? The intention may be to generate ideas or share information but sometimes the exact focus is not always clear. Setting that focus is something I could be better at - how about you? Generally I find that meetings work best when participants collaborate effectively to acheive a successful outcome. I want to share what I have found to be an effective approach to group decision making. A few year’s ago, I had the great fortune to attend a seminar conducted by leading thinker, Edward de Bono. Among the many creativity and thinking tools that he has developed, there is one system that I return to over and over again. He refers to it as PMI, where the acronym stands for Plus, Minus and Interesting. It works by considering each of the headings in turn and spending a defined amount of time to reflect on and note the likely outcomes of a particular course of action. It goes way beyond simply listing pros ...

Here’s a workplace squeeze. You have been trying to make headway with a project or a task and it just does not seem to be working for you. You feel challenged by this, so what can you do? Steven Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, has written that sometimes the way we see the problem is the problem! Albert Einstein is reported to have said that you can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created. I am no Einstein, so for a long time I never really knew what that meant but I get it now. And what I get connects with Covey’s point about “seeing” the problem. Robert Dilts has developed a model of thinking called Neurological Levels. This can be presented as six focal points: Environment; Behaviour; Capabilities; Values and Beliefs; Identity; and Mission or Beyond Identity. The model has generated opposing views. Don’t you just love it when that happens? I do. Maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Anyway, some have criticised it saying ...

One of my favourite tools for keeping a focus on time is the low-cost, low-tech kitchen timer. Designed to run for precisely three minutes, I use it several times a day, yet never when boiling eggs. That’s because it sits on my office desk and there’s not much need for cooking there! I like the timer so much that I wanted to use it as a metaphor for what this site is about. The key point about the timer is not so much the two chambers or the quantity of sand, although these are important, it is about that aperture in the middle that manages the flow. And then there’s that hourglass shape, need I say more? Well yes, you would expect me to, wouldn’t you? As I mentioned, the timer sits on my desk doing what metaphors do. I notice that shape in lots of other places too. On my computer screen, for example, where I have learned to be patient until that symbol disappears and the program is ready for action. I occasionally use the timer as a weight to anchor and draw attention to ti...

You may have heard it said that people should teach what they most need to learn. For years I have been fascinated about developing effectiveness and realising potential. I have been learning from all sorts of books, audio programmes and seminars that I have attended. Now it's time to put all that into practice and share the learning with others. I have started middlefocus as my response to the observation that many middle managers are caught between a rock and a work place. They face daily challenges in managing and leading their own teams while being on the receiving end from their senior colleagues. To top it all, they have their own work to do often against difficult deadlines. They need time and space to work but often find themselves either squeezed or stuck! Sometimes their work and personal lives tumble out of control and they could do with some help to regain their balance and move forward. That's where middlefocus comes in. Over the years I have acquired a range o...